Betrayal
by GGElaina
Summary: "My Lord?" "Shut up." Quinn retracted his hand and looked on sadly. "I'm not your lord anymore." She looked out of the large bay window. "Apparently, I never was." Quinn masked all remorse he felt as the droids charged their blasters. It was for the best.
1. At First Sight

_The metal floor of the hanger clanged against my heels as Malavai Quinn lead us through an eerily red lit hallway. Imperial security forces had recently been slain as we made our way into the elevator. Our mission was to capture a special signal emitter that would bypass my enemies defenses on Corelia so I could continue my mission in bringing him down. The doors closed behind us and I felt an uneasiness wash over Quinn. He was nervous about something. I reached out to touch his shoulder for reassurance but he continued on down into the open room. _

"_My lord," his soothing accent filled my ears as it ricocheted off the metal walls, "I regret that our paths must diverge. Out of respect, I wanted to be here to witness your fate." I could feel my heart falling into my stomach. Was he breaking up with me? We had been through so much together, I almost couldn't imagine a life without him. I attempted to run through the last several months, had it been something I'd done or said?_

"_I don't understand... what's wrong?" I didn't want to assume anything in case I was wrong. I was praying that I was wrong._

"_It pains me. But this entire scenario is a ruse. There's no martial law and no special signal emitter. Baras is my true master." I closed my eyes. I couldn't believe this was happening. Was I having a bad dream? Was this really happening? My heart was thrashing in my ears as I tried to think of something to say. But I had nothing. Just pain. Quinn was my everything, the one thing that I thought through all of this that I could count on. The one who put a ring on my finger, the one who promised to be beside me through anything that came our way. "He had me lure you here to have you killed." The universe just seemed to halt. There was nothing. Quinn was planning to kill me. My eyes opened and the first thing I saw was the diamond ring her had placed on my finger just months before and everything came rushing back._

Elaena walked between the armored Imperial guards standing on either side of the door. There were just so many things that she could have been thinking of that she just wasn't sure where to start. In less than a month she had gone from a nobody to an apprentice of a Darth that everyone in the galaxy seemed to know. She looked down at her hands as the guards bowed her through the door. She was incredibly shy and always got a little flustered when people bowed to her. She didn't understand why they did it. She was no one special, she was a girl with a pair of shiny sticks and was just really good at hitting people with them. Maybe she was hanging around Vette too much. The golden ring on her ring finger caught her attention. She had never been one to wear a lot of jewelry. Now a thick, twisting golden ring was sitting on her finger.

It once belonged to Overseer Tremel, the man who had brought her to Korriban to complete the trials to become Sith. Tremel had risked almost everything to bring her in early so a man named Vemrin, who was a half blood and there-for "not worthy"of becoming a true Sith, didn't become Darth Baras' new apprentice. Sith politics never made much sense to her as all it was was people trying to stab each other in the back for power or wealth. Darth Baras was not happy with Tremel trying to essentially choose his apprentice for him so he had ordered Elaena to kill Tremel and bring back his hand as proof of his demise. Maybe she was soft but she believed it made no sense to kill everyone in all situations. Tremel hadn't done anything against her so when it came time to strike the killing blow she took his left hand and he left the planet in secret.

Now she had the ring he was wearing. Baras had given it to her when she turned in his hand. Told her "items can hold emotions that can be called on later". Little did he know the emotion she called back on was pity. Pity that Baras was so closed minded that all he saw in solutions was murder. Now he had sent her to a planet called Balmorra. She had never been off of her home world and was excited to see the galaxy. She was promised to see at least two new planets this being the first. She was told to meet a Lieutenant Malavai Quinn who she was to learn her mission objectives from.

Elaena was happy that her first contact was an Imperial military man instead of another Sith. People in the military generally had much friendlier dispositions towards her. It might only be because they were absolutely terrified of her but they were still friendly none the less. Siths seemed to have two types: arrogant and malicious. Dealing with another Sith was never fun because they were always trying to one up you or trying to murder you anytime you had you back turned. She began to wonder what Quinn would be like. Being a Lieutenant, he was sure to be young but that was really the only thing she could say for sure. You were a Lieutenant for three reasons: You were either new to the military, you didn't take the military seriously enough or you were being held back by someone. Baras seemed to be extremely serious and seemed to have been entrenched in the pecking order for a long time. So she was almost sure that Quinn was being held back by someone. The question was... why?

"Now focus Jilins. Dismissed." A shaking blond nearly collided with Elaena as she turned the corner.

"Hello." Elaena smiled at the man gently, he was obviously extremely nervous about something.

"Oh, hello, My Lord." He bowed deeply, eying the lightsabers wearily. "Is there something I can do for you?" Elaena blinked.

"No? Just saying hello."

"Oh, well hello. Hope you're having a good day."

"I am, and you?" The man named Jilins stared at her as if she had suddenly grown Nerf horns.

"I'm doing fine, I really should be going, my lord." He bowed uncomfortably and rushed off. Elaena let out a dejected sigh as the doors automatically closed behind him. She would never get used to the fact that nearly everyone she met was terrified of her. Was she really so frightening? She knew the answer of course, she herself wasn't scary, her title however was.

"I'm sorry for the delay, my lord." Elaena looked up from her ring and blinked. An extremely attractive officer bowed before her. His dark hair was naturally pushed back with a small cow lick in the front. His clean shaven face was flawless aside from a cute little mole on his left cheekbone. His blue eyes kept constant eye contact with her. His military uniform fit his body and was pressed and creased properly. Everything about him screamed sharp and intentional perfection. "Lieutenant Malavai Quinn, I am to be your liaison here during your time on Balmorra." She hoped that her mission here would be a particularly long one. There was a long pause as if he was expecting her to say something.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." Oh, that was original. She didn't know what exactly to call him. Could she call him Quinn or should she keep it formal and call him by rank? He had a very nice last name, Quinn, a last name you could easily refer to someone as.

"And to you, my lord." He had the same look that Jilins had. Like he was surprised by her pleasant response, except he masked it better. "Darth Baras will brief you personally. But I am to acquaint you with the climate here on Balmorra first." He crossed his hands and waited for permission to continue speaking. All of his words were chosen carefully.

"Please do." Elaena didn't understand why she needed to give him permission to do his job.

"Even though the Empire wrestled control of Balmorra away from the Republic during the war, we never able to completely eradicate them. There is a rather sizable resistance movement, no one wants to admit it, but it is clear that the Republic is backing it."

"Hopefully I will be able to help with that while I'm here." Aiding the Empire to win the war had always been one of her prime objectives when becoming Sith. Even though she was Baras' lapdog now, she was hoping to soon be able to join battles throughout the galaxy and change the tides of the war.

"Something tells me your impression here will leave an indelible impression on the state of things. And I look forward to it." She smiled at him as he looked at her with an extremely serious gaze. It was obvious he was a patriotic soldier. Fire like his made her wonder even further why he was still a Lieutenant. "I have a secure line to Darth Baras. I will patch him through immediately." As Quinn turned his back he couldn't see the young Sith sigh sadly. She was hoping Quinn had had more to say. Not only because his voice was pleasant to listen to but also because the end meant Baras would become her new conversation partner.

Darth Baras was a masked man with a soft side for torture and spying on every inch of the galaxy he could get his chubby little fingers on. The two of them could not have been any more different if they tried. While he preferred torture, manipulation and slaughter she preferred a more civilized, tactical, peaceful solution to end conflict. Something he ridiculed her about whenever he had the chance.

"Ah, I see you've convened with my apprentice." Quinn turned to face her once again and she quickly looked at the floating hologram. She didn't want him to think she was staring at him when she was lost in thought, even though she was. "Very good Lieutenant. Leave us." Her shoulders slumped just a little lower. She hoping he would at least be in the room so she could have something nice to look at while Baras droned on about whatever it was he needed her to do. Quinn bowed his head and walked out of the room, not even turning an eye to her. Baras and her were alone. "Quinn owes his career to me but we should keep the details of your mission between the two of us." So another piece of the "Why Quinn Is Still A Lieutenant" Puzzle falls into place. A rather large piece but a piece all the same. "Apprentice! Pay attention, now is not the time to be day dreaming. We must act swiftly, Nomen Karr's padawan has directed the Jedi's attention to my spy on Balmorra, do you recall this?"

"Yes." How could she not, he had explained all of this nonsense while torturing a Republic spy just hours ago. She knew she could be spacy at times but certainly he had more faith in her than that.

"I'll get to the point then. My spy is Commander Rylon of the Republic Resistance. He is my central contacts for all of my operatives in the sector. Unfortunately, Quinn is tracking an investigator the Jedi have sent. That means we have to cover our tracks before you kill Rylon. Your first objective is to destroy the evidence that links to Commander Rylon destroying the Balmorran Defense Systems during the war. To do this you must break into the satellite control tower. Quinn reports that it is a death trap of mechanical security." Oh boy, as if she believed for a moment a single step of this would be easy, Droids, Turrets and Lasers... oh my.

"Not a problem."

"This task is priority one. The Jedi investigator could be zeroing in on the evidence as we speak."

"Wouldn't that be just awful." She sighed, she had not meant to say that out loud. Even though she couldn't see, Baras was obviously attempting to set her on fire with his eyes. "Sorry."

"Quinn has everything you'll need. Remember, he is not to know the reason for you mission. I will be in touch." The comlink went dead.

"Oh boy. Can't wait."

"My lord?" Quinn appeared behind her with a rather large pack of square bombs wrapped tightly in tape. "I have everything you'll need for your assault on the satellite control tower. You'll have to attach this charge to base of the mainframe. Then contact me and I will detonate it for you once you are at a safe distance."

"How exciting. My life in your hands." She really needed to learn to curb the sarcasm.

"I would never cause harm to you, my lord. The charges are completely safe until you remove them from their casing."

"I know, just trying to lighten the mood." He looked at her as if she had just spoken to him in some alien language. Somehow she wasn't surprised that the term "joke" might be a foreign concept.

"Good luck, my lord." She took the charges and returned the bow he had given her.


	2. Out of the Ordinary

Malavai Quinn sat in his quarters several hours after Darth Baras' new apprentice had left. He was attempting to complete his daily work so he would be able to greet her upon her return. He had recently hacked into the Satellite Control Towers security frequencies and had every angle of the of interior surveillance on his screen. If anything happened to Baras' apprentice he would have to contact him immediately to alert him of her fate. At least one hundred resistance droids were stationed throughout the complex and the likely hood of her success was minute to say the least. It would be a shame to lose someone of her potential over such a useless structure as the Satellite Control Tower. Much of the building had already been destroyed during the war and the Empire was in no rush to completely take over the place. Why was this over populated area so important that Baras' would risk his newest apprentice to destroy it?

Darth Baras' had not given him any details of Lord Elaena's true objectives. He was simply told to inform her of he threats she faced within and the means of which to destroy it. Why she was going inside was none of his business. He could simply listen to the holocommunications between them or record them to view later. They were talking inside his quarters and it would be a simple feat for him to accomplish. But the risk of Darth Baras' finding out were much too great. Baras' was the entire reason that he was still apart of the military at all. He owed his career to him. He could not betray his trust to learn such trivial information. As long as he completed his job and Elaena returned safely then he was doing everything that he could for the good of the Empire.

Quinn found himself periodically looking up at the screen far more than he should have been. He had the alarms redirected to his office mainframe so that no reinforcements would be called while Elaena was inside. Once she entered he would know and yet he still kept glancing at the screen. There was a miniscule possibility that he could have written the codes wrong and then he would have no idea unless he happened to check that she was inside the building. Yes, that was obviously why he was behaving this way, he was merely double checking his work. He looked down at the report atop of his desk. Another surveillance team had been killed attempting to gather information on possible Imperial civilians hiding out with resistance forces in caves. He impatiently signed off on the report and glanced up at the screen again. It had been at least eight hours since she had departed. He had alerted many of the commanding officers on the planet that if a female Sith was found injured or dead to contact him immediately. Why was it taking her so long?

An extremely loud beeping noise filled the room as the control panel flashed red. A blue lightsaber flew through the room and impaled one of the more menacing looking droids. Blaster fire filled the speakers as Quinn shut off the emergency alert system. Elaena and a small blue Twi'lek walked through the front door, casually destroying the mass of droids charging at them.

"And here I thought Baras said this place was a death trap. I thought this would be more a challenge." The Twi'lek holstered her weapons as her master charged at a particularly large group of droids and pushed her fist in the ground. They flew backwards and smashed into tiny pieces against the walls.

"I'm rather thankful that they aren't, Vette. We've had a long day." Her lightsaber returned to her outstretched hand on its own and she took a swift look around. Quinn leaned forward slowly and a smile crept on his face. The Satellite Control Tower was a death trap of droids that she destroyed in mere seconds. He understood now why Baras had chosen her as his apprentice. At first glance she hardly seemed qualified. She was small and wore her hair long. Her features were gentle and her voice was kind. She didn't seem anything like the typical Sith he had encountered. However, she was obviously new, she was still innocent to the ways of the Sith and he expected her to change. Or perhaps she was merely changing her true personality to gain his affection. Although it was unnecessary, maybe she believed being kind to him would produce better results than threatening. He was a servant of the Empire and would do everything to aid her in her mission no matter her disposition towards him. However, a small part of him hoped this was her true nature and that she wouldn't change. A foolish dream.

"A bomb! You're been flipping around with a bomb in your pocket this entire time and you didn't tell me!" His eye twitched as the Twi'lek screeched but the Sith was giggling softly.

"Oh come on, it's just a little bomb, nothing to be afraid of." She casually turned the bomb in her hands. The Twi'lek screamed and almost ran out of the room. Quinn shook his head, she obviously had no idea that the bomb would not explode until he pressed the button on the receiver.

"Vette, I'm only kidding! Please don't be scared!" Elaena was smiling innocently out of the door as she placed the explosive on the base of the main computer terminal. Quinn stood up walked over to the holoterminal in the corner of the room and awaited her call.

"My lord, I have detected that the bomb has been placed and I will detonate once you are at a safe distance." He watched as she walked out of the building with her pet Twi'lek. His datapad went off suddenly and he quickly checked the message. Darth Baras wanted to speak with her. "Darth Baras wishes to speak to you. I will step away and leave the line open for the two of you." He switched off his terminal and sat back down at his computer. Quinn began dismantling his surveillance of the Satellite Control Tower as it was about to be turned to rubble. Another message appeared on his data pad.

_'Brief my apprentice on Ensign Durmat immediately.'_ Quinn raised an eyebrow as he pulled up his files on this Ensign. What did this have to do with anything? Had a complication in his plan arisen. He transferred the files to his data pad and read them over as he pulled up Elaena's holofrequency.

"My lord, Ensign Durmat is being detained at the Republic Crater Outpost awaiting questioning by the mysterious agent that Baras has me tracking. I will alert you if the investigator seems to be heading there. I assume that you wish to get to him before she does."

"That is the plan. How is your tracking going, well I hope?" Quinn kept his face empty as surprise filled him. Was she attempting to gain information from him about Baras' other preoccupations? Or was she simply attempting to have a conversation with him? No, she obviously wanted to know something, why would a Sith attempt communications with an Imperial officer?

"I'm sorry, My Lord. Baras has my duties classified at the present time." Hopefully she would not order him to tell her, power struggles between Master and Apprentice was not something he wanted to be responsible for.

"Oh, I didn't know that your mission was a secret, I apologize." She was... apathetic? No, she was obviously trying to cover her tracks.

"Good luck on your mission, my lord. I will be here if you need anything." He bowed and waited for her to close the link out of courtesy. Baras' new apprentice was becoming increasingly odd by the sentence. He returned to his desk, determined to discover the message between the lines.

–

Elaena and Vette trudged into the Republic bunker late in the evening. She was sure she had ran miles across Balmorra that day, doing odd jobs that Imperial officers had begged from her. She was more than willing to help the Empire in all forms that needed her but on hour sixteen she wasn't starting to fatigue. Vette looked even more worse for wear than she did and she hoped that her mission here would soon be finished if only to grab a few hours of rest. Balmorran days were longer than Korribans and she had been working since dawn. She couldn't wait to board her ship and find a nice empty packet of space to idle in for a long nap.

"Okay, I give... my dad's an Imperial Agent..." Oh boy... Elaena had hoped that this son of the spy she was sent to kill would have at least a vertebrae of a back bone so that she wouldn't have to kill him. Commander Rylon, Baras' spy in the Republic resistance on Balmorra had told his only child who he truly was, and now Baras wanted her to kill the son before going after the man himself. It didn't seem right, killing someone because someone told them a secret. She was hoping that Baras was wrong about the son, that he could get through the interrogation without saying anything and she could let him go in peace. But it seemed that wasn't an option anymore.

"What was that?" A cyborg enhanced man stood up from his desk and walked over to where the son was pacing in his cage. And now she would have to kill the captor as well... this was getting increasingly messy. The young man looked at her as she walked in and terror spread over his face.

"Oh no... no no no no no no. S-s... S-Sith..."

"Take a look behind you, Sith. That's what two squads of the finest Republic soldiers looks like." Four shaky looking men walked up behind her with standard issue blaster rifles pointed at her. They were barely even wearing any armor and their head guards were up. Finest indeed...

"Tell you men to fall back, you don't have to die here." She knew asking them to surrender was hopeless. Five on two would seem like too big an advantage to just lay down quietly. But they always seemed to forget that she was Sith.

"Come on, boys. Let's send this Sith home in a body bag."

"Why do they never learn." Vette placed her palm in her hands and Elaena drew her lightsaber.

"It's a shame they don't." Elaena threw her off-hand lightsaber behind her and charged at the cyborg. The lightsaber decapitated all four men in a matter of seconds as their bodies crashed to the floor and her lightsaber returned to her hand before she landed in front of the man. She had killed the soldiers mercifully, none of them feeling a thing. She stuck her main-hand lightsaber into his stomach and he slid to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Zixx, come on, get up man!" Elaena reached down and looked for a pulse, finding none. "Please... I know why you're here. There's an agent investigating my dad and they're coming to question me about it. But I promise, if you let me live I won't say anything. My dad's secret is save with me! I'm a rock!" Elaena raised her eyebrow at him and he squirmed under her gaze.

"Really? Is that why you told this man who your dad was without any questions at all? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Yes, fine, you're an idiot. If you let me live I'll think whatever you want me to think. Please don't kill me." Elaena's heartstrings pulled gently as she looked upon the startled boy. He was probably in his early twenties and the only crime he was being punished for was being born without a spine. Some people just didn't have courage and would be subservient their whole lives. She couldn't kill him, he hadn't done anything to deserve being murdered. She hoped if she had children someday they would be treated the same way.

"Do you have an alternative solution? How else can we keep you quiet during interrogation?"

"Yes! Um... I was working here in the medical lab you know... moving medical supplies and making deliveries. The doctors there were working on a drug to create amnesia. It wiped the mind totally clean. If you bring me some from the labs down the hall I'll overdose and not know nothin' no more." Elaena pondered the possibility. If this drug did exist then she could let him live but he would forget his entire life. All of his experiences, his memories, his relationships would be gone. Would that be worse than death? Having to start over from scratch halfway through your life? It was his choice she supposed. If he was willing to take it she could go retrieve it for him.

"I'll be right back." She had already cleared out the building before finding the Ensign. A small footlocker containing a glowing green pile of syringes lay collapsed on the floor. "Is this what I'm looking for?" She showed him the chemical from the doorway.

"Yes! That's it!" She handed him the drug through the bars of the cage and he turned his back to her. "Well, here goes nothin' I guess." And he injected himself with the drug. He looked a little worse for wear and he began to fall backwards. She quickly reached through the bars and caught him before he hit his head on the wall and gently sat him down.

"Urgh... where am I?" He looked around slowly and spotted Elaena. "Who are you?" Elaena sat back on the desk and crossed her legs.

"Who I am doesn't really matter. Who are you?" He stared at her with an extremely confused look on his face.

"I don't know... do you know who I am?"

"Don't let anyone tell you who you are. Good bye." She knew she couldn't let him go because he still needed to be questioned by the interrogator. She would just have to leave him in his cell to be extremely confused for the rest of the day.

"Wow... I wish there was more of that drug lying around... I have a few memories I would like to forget." Elaena looked at the wall for moment, a far away look in her eyes. Two bodies covered in blood lie on the floor of the kitchen, smeared hand prints of blood sliding down the walls, a scared red headed child crouching in a cupboard.

"Yeah... don't we all. Let's get going. I think we should go back to the ship and take a break before we go after whoever Baras wants dead."

"First good thing you've said all day."

–

Elaena came trudging through the door at the end of the day. The sun had already set and Quinn was nearly finished with the paperwork that had mounted on his desk just after she cut communications with him earlier in the day. There had to be at least twenty fresh reports of a mysterious Sith who had done everything from replacing grenades with rigged explosives to saving a platoon from certain death in the Okara Droid Factory. The resistance was slowly being pushed back into their base of operations and it was all thanks to this one Sith.

"I must be honest, your success at the Satellite Control Tower and Republic Crater Outpost has... surprised me, my lord. I computed the possibility of success as nearly negligible. In my assessment however, I computed the talents of a typical Sith. You are clearly not a typical Sith. I will adjust future calibrations to account for your unprecedented abilities." She blushed slightly under her extremely exhausted eyes.

"I aim to please." He had expected her to yell at him for thinking so lowly of her. Most Sith Lords didn't think too highly of Imperial officers' opinions of them. But he wanted to let her know that he was happy with the success of the mission even if she didn't care of his opinion. He always felt good work should be rewarded whatever the rank difference.

"Darth Baras is awaiting your contact." She shuffled uncomfortably at the sound of her Masters name.

"I promised Vette we would take a few hours to relax. We've been working all day. Do you think he will be upset if I contact him in an hour or two from my ship? Is the investigator close to our objective?" Quinn raised an eyebrow. Was she asking for his opinion on the matter?

"I suppose a few hours wouldn't hurt. She doesn't seem to have moved around much since you left the Republic Crater Outpost. I could contact Lord Baras for you and alert him that you resting for the upcoming battle. The Balmorran Arms Factory is the resistance headquarters and it will take every ounce of your strength to get yourself in and out." She did absolutely spent and from the reports he had been reading through it seemed she had every right to be. She had done more to break down the resistance in the last 24 hours than the entire Imperial Armed Forces could have in a month. Hopefully, Lord Baras would see reason and allow her a small rest time.

"Then I will retire to my ship, don't hesitate to contact me there if something comes up and I need to move out right away."

"My lord... I'm sorry to say that there was a rather intense arial strike near the spaceport earlier today. Most of the airships, including yours I would assume, were ordered to move out into space until the threat has receded to avoid unnecessary loses. Your ship will not be cleared to land until mid day tomorrow." Elaena's shoulders slumped, that was the last thing that she needed to hear. She had been looking forward to the large comfortable bed located on her ship all day. But it seemed the work of a Sith was never done. She would have to find Vette and go to the Balmorran Arms Factory now. Quinn noticed her sudden displeasure and prepared to say something when the loud Twi'lek burst through the doorway.

"They took our ship!"

"Yes, Quinn just told me. Looks like we'll have to take our break a little later than we originally expected. I'll make it up to you later, I promise." The Twi'lek voiced her obvious displeasure.

"My lord, if I may suggest..." He waited for the Twi'lek's groans to subside before continuing. "You are more than welcome to rest in my quarters for the time being while I attempt to recall your ship. I know it isn't as comfortable as your own living environments but it is the least I can do."

"Wow... didn't know you were that kind of girl, Elaena. Staying over on the first date..." Quinn's mind merely collapsed under those sentences. She dared call her master by her first name with no title? There was such familiarity in the way she talked to the Sith that he was sure he would have to call someone to take care of the body. She merely smiled at the Twi'lek.

"Quinn is cute but not that cute. Besides, I think I mean more than I one night stand to him, don't you think?"

"Whatever you say. I'd rather not be kept up all night by his girly screams of ecstasy so I'm going to see if the cantina has an empty room. Have fun you two."

"My lord... It was not a sexual pass at you... I was merely." She held up her hand and he immediately ceased talking.

"We were only joking. Or... at least I was, I'm not so sure about Vette sometimes. I really appreciate this. Are you sure I won't be a bother?" She was worried about inconveniencing him?

"Not at all, my lord. I am here to service you in any way that you need. I will try to make my barracks as comfortable as possible for you. Do you have noise or temperature preferences?"

"No, not at all. You're doing so much for me already I couldn't possibly ask for more. Just point me to the cot you make me and I'll try to be out of your way as quickly as possible." She expected to take a small corner of the floor with some blankets or a pillow. He lead her into his room and she couldn't help but look around. Everything was in neat little squares and it seemed as if there wasn't a speck of dust in the place. A pair of bunk beds were built into the eastern wall and she couldn't tell which one he slept in. They both looked completely spotless as if they had just been installed that day.

"You can have your choice of beds, my lord."

"What...? Oh no I can't possibly do that! I was just going to get some blankets and take a nap on the floor."

"Why would I allow you to do that... you are a Lord of the Sith."

"I'm just an apprentice..." Quinn could not understand why she thought that she would be sleeping on the floor. This one was definitely an odd one. "Which bunk do you normally sleep in."

"I generally sleep on the lower bunk, my lord."

"Well then I will sleep on the top bunk. Wouldn't want to take your bed." She looked as if she had something more to say.

"Is there something else I can do for you, my lord?" Elaena blushed and looked at her feet. Her stomach growled on queue as if worried it would not be filled if it didn't make its needs known public ally. Quinn smiled gently, she was nervous about asking for something to eat.

"The cantina nearby supplies us with our rations. Their bantha steaks aren't exactly five star cuisine but hopefully it will suffice..."

"Oh that should be more than enough... do they have any seafood perhaps?" She had a weak spot for fish and wasn't really a red meat person.

"Of course, my lord. Excuse me, please make yourself comfortable." Elaena contacted the cantina to make sure Vette had checked in safely and had 2V, the droid that came with the ship she was given, send her some articles of clothing to sleep in. She quickly changed and sat at the round table in the middle of the room. There was a large stack of papers neatly stacked in the center. She slowly began to tap her fingers against the glass. She didn't realize how tired she was until she had put her comfortable clothes on. Her brain must associate sleep with these garments. She could not believe that Quinn was so kind as to allow her to sleep in his room. If it were her she would have been more reluctant to open up her room to a complete stranger, especially if it were a man. But he was willing to just give up his bed for her. She rested her head on her arms as Quinn stayed stuck in her thoughts. He was so kind and smart and attractive. She would be willing to stay on Balmorra just a little longer.

Quinn walked back to his office with a covered plate of the planets finest deep fried salt fish. He couldn't keep his thoughts off of Darth Baras' new apprentice. She was full of surprises that he just kept stumbling over. He was used to adapting to new superior officers' needs quickly but it was much harder to anticipates someones needs when they didn't make them known. She didn't seem ready to bark orders at him like everyone else. He nearly dropped the plate as he re-entered his quarters. Elaena seemed to be sleeping on his table. Her head was on her folded arms and her long red hair was nearly spilling onto the floor. Quinn placed the food on the table hoping the smell would rouse her if she was merely resting, but she made no movements at all.

"My lord..." He laid his hand gently on her shoulder but she seemed to be dead to the world. He thought it odd that she had fallen asleep so heavily. Well, he assumed she must have felt safe in the middle of an army base. But still it must be off for a Sith lord to be comfortable enough in an area to fall asleep so soundly. After several more minutes of attempting to shake her awake Quinn placed a stool by his bed and picked up the sleeping Sith lord. She didn't stir at all in his arms as he placed her gently atop the upper bunk and covered her in pillows. He brushed the long red locks from her face and stood entranced for a moment. Without the natural barriers she looked much younger than she had just hours before. It was clear to him now that she had been made Sith much sooner than any he had ever witnessed. She was breathtaking in her sleep almost even more so now. He would admit that he found her physically attractive as a female. She seemed to be interested in pursuing a physical relationship with him, perhaps he would take her up on her offer once her work was finished her on Balmorra. For now, he would view her as he should, a Sith lord who was collaborating with him to achieve a goal. In all honesty, he shouldn't be thinking at all of pursuing any outside contact with a Sith Lord. He was an Imperial officer, a Lieutenant even, if she was at all interested in him it would be far beyond Divine Intervention. But something in the back of his mind told him he was wrong. She was no ordinary Sith Lord.


	3. Teasing

Malavai Quinn sat at his office's coffee table early the next morning. His legs were crossed as one hand held a cup of black coffee and the other held a holopad featuring the news of the day. Balmorra was much quieter than he had seen it in months with reports across the planet of defusing Republic assaults. In one day they were nearly on the brink of defeat and it had everything to do with the sleeping Sith apprentice a few meters away. From what he could tell, Elaena had slept all the way through the night as soundly as a child. Either she was extremely naive or extraordinarily tired to be a Sith who could sleep so thoroughly through mortar shell firings.

Darth Baras, to Quinn's curiosity, had not tried to contact him or his apprentice to his knowledge in almost 36 hours when he had given her the first mission details at the Republic Crater Outpost. He had expected someone like Baras to check in quite often, especially with no contact from their end in a little over a day. Perhaps he expected his apprentice to take longer with the mission objective. A long obnoxious yawn from the doorway made him look up from his holopad. The blue Twi'lek slave walked in casually and stared at him intently.

"She's still sleeping?" She nodded towards the motionless red head.

"Obviously." Quinn went back to his coffee, hoping that the Twi'lek would find a spot in the corner and stay silent until her master awoke.

"Well, why haven't you woken her up yet?" Quinn blinked slowly. Why on Earth would possess her to propose such a preposterous idea? Bothering a Sith Lord while she's sleeping was suicide and he still had a long planned out life he needed to fulfill.

"If you wish to shorten your life span you're welcome to do just that." She laughed loudly and his eyes shot to the top bunk across the room. The Sith still remained motionless, taking long slow breaths.

"What are you expecting her to do? Kill you?" The Twi'lek walked over the beds stepped on the small ladder. "Elaena? You alive?" She placed a hand on her arm and shook her gently. Quinn set his coffee cup down and readied himself. She stirred slowly and rolled onto his back. "Well, welcome to the world of the living."

"How long was I asleep?" Came a soft groggy voice and Quinn blinked slowly.

"Quite a while. It's morning."

"What! Oh, why didn't anyone wake my up! I was only meaning to take a nap..."

"I apologize, my lord." Elaena looked around Vette as Quinn stood up and bowed suddenly. "I took the liberty of allowing you to sleep. Lord Baras hasn't attempted to contact you and the Republic investigator hasn't made any unusual movements. I figured waking you wasn't necessary."

"Oh. Well, okay then." Vette smiled and jumped off of the ladder as Elaena pushed the blanket off and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Who knew you were so worried about pleasing Baras." Vette teased and Elaena gave her a look as she slowly ran her hands through her long red hair. Vette knew how much she detested Baras and his politics.

"I will alert Lord Baras of your mission success immediately."

"Thank you." She leaned back and her shoulders cracked as she stretched. She still hadn't gotten used to sleeping on a moving vessel and with no one at the helm driving apart from the auto pilot computers she was nervous. She hadn't slept well in a few weeks. This was the first full night sleep she had gotten on the ground in almost a month and she felt much better.

"Lord Baras is pleased and wanted me to inform you that you are ready to zero in on your prime objective and is awaiting your contact. The holocommunicater in the corner of the room is secure. I will be outside if you need anything." Quinn bowed and exited the room. Elaena sighed as she jumped from the bed, she was hoping to be free of Baras just a while longer but he seemed to be unavoidable.

"I hope you can see the smile on my face, apprentice. You're turning me into a true believer." Elaena blinked slowly, was he making fun of her? Of course she couldn't see the expression on his face, he was wearing a mask.

"Enough small talk, what are we doing now?" Elaena crossed her arms stiffly and waited for the mission details. The shorter the conversation with Baras the better.

"I'm sure you're ready to complete your time on that little rock. With the satellite tower computer destroyed and Commander Rylon's son neutralized my spies tracks are covered. Now the only threat to Rylon ever being exposed is the man himself. It's time to end that threat, permanently."

"Do I have to kill him?" Elaena saw no need for violence. Rylon was a military commander. With the help of Imperial Intelligence it would be easy to stage a raid on his whereabouts and make it look like he had been killed while extracting him from the enemy lines. But Baras wanted to take the easy way out and simply put the blood on her hands.

"I like that idolness makes you disagreeable. Just make sure to give Rylon an honorable death, it's the least we can do. I've had him behind enemy lines for decades, his contributions to the Empire's interests is unrivaled."

"The man is a hero. It's a shame that he has to die like this."

"He has always known the risk." Elaena sighed inwardly. That was how Baras would justify his actions. "The Jedi investigator must have no hard evidence that Rylon was killed to silence him. It must look like anything but a targeted execution. Annihilate everyone there."

"That sounds extremely uncalled for."

"Your objection is noted, the order still stands." Baras crossed his arms and she knew then that there was no point arguing with him anymore. He wasn't going to listen to anything anyone else had to say. "I've summoned Lieutenant Quinn, he will prepare you for your final task." Baras switched off the communication abruptly.

"Oh boy, he's not happy with you." Vette put her hands on her hips.

"I'm sure killing one of the best Imperial spies we have for him will put me back in his good graces." Vette looked at her as she turned from the holocommunicater.

"You need to work on your sarcasm, sometimes I can't tell if you're kidding or not." Quinn walked into the room shortly after.

"Your final target is the Balmorran Arms Factory." Elaena blinked slowly. She hoped that he was kidding but she knew in her heart Quinn more than likely didn't have the ability to make a joke. "The resistance recently captured it and made it their headquarters."

"What...?" Quinn looked up from his holopad.

"I'm sorry, my lord. What part are you confused about and I will clarify."

"I'm going to assume by the name that the Balmorran Arms Factory makes weapons. And the Balmorran resistance somehow captured one of the most important structures on the planet?" Quinn blinked slowly, he seemed unsure if she was asking him a direct question or simply voicing her displeasure. "Never mind, go ahead."

"An incursion into the factory will be a monumental feat." Well, of course it will. Baras was having her dive head first into a large fortified structure that probably had more weapons than people inside. "I'm excited by the prospect of you laying waste to that place." Elaena crossed her arms as a smile tugged at her lips.

"I excite you?" She seemed to have hit a spot as he shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"I.. Well, um, what I meant was... When I imagine all the ways you will shape the galaxy, I get very excited. Yes." Elaena tried so very hard not to laugh at the obviously uncomfortable military man. She wanted to poke more fun at him by commenting on his phrase of 'imagining her' but she figured she wouldn't get more than a stammering response anyway.

"Aw, I was hoping you'd say that you like me. You like me, don't you?" Elaena batted her eyelashes at him.

"My lord! Is this really the time and place for such an inquiry?" Elaena looked around at Quinn's bedroom and he blushed slightly. "I grant you that. It's not the place perhaps, but the time that leaves something to be desired."

"Relax, I'm only teasing you." Quinn relaxed considerably and Elaena looked at him softly. She was almost sure that Quinn liked her, even if only a tiny bit. But perhaps she was mistaken.

"May I continue to brief you on the Balmorran Arms Factory?"

"By all means..."

"I appreciate your mercy and grace, my lord. The Republic command center is deep within the arms factory. In order to reach Commander Rylon you will have to first make your way past the factories defenses which are considerable."

"How many will I be up against?"

"Unknown, my lord. But the factory is sure to have state of the art security systems and attack droids." The most important building you would want to keep tabs on in a war and the Empire didn't even get a look inside before it was taken. Remarkable. "Stationed inside are an estimated 1,000 if the Republics best trained soldiers. Notably, Rylon's Elite Squadron is known for some of the most precise and unprecedented resistance victories on the planet. They are legendary."

"High praise indeed."

"I've marveled at their tactical exploits, that's all." Quinn was quickly attempting to explain himself as if she were going to throw him to a pack of Tukatas if he didn't answer correctly.

"I don't doubt that at all."

"It will be a bright day on Balmorra when they are eliminated. One final thing. The investigator that the Jedi have sent has been concentrating her efforts around the arms factory. If she becomes a problem, I will contact you on your comlink."

"I'll answer if I have the ability. Hopefully all 1,000 of those soldiers you mentioned don't all attack at once."

"I hope there will be no reason to disturb you, my lord. I will be here to salute you when the Balmorran Arms Factory is a smoking husk." He bowed deeply and she smiled at him. Hopefully that happened sooner rather than later.


End file.
